US4216459A - Signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles - Google Patents

Signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles Download PDF

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Publication number
US4216459A
US4216459A US06/016,611 US1661179A US4216459A US 4216459 A US4216459 A US 4216459A US 1661179 A US1661179 A US 1661179A US 4216459 A US4216459 A US 4216459A
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United States
Prior art keywords
operational lever
actuating
switching system
winking
operational
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Expired - Lifetime
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US06/016,611
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English (en)
Inventor
Shoichi Harata
Hirotsugi Kobayashi
Sohei Hibino
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Tokai Rika Co Ltd
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Tokai Rika Co Ltd
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
    • B62J6/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices on cycles; Mounting or supporting thereof; Circuits therefor
    • B62J6/16—Arrangement of switches

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a two-wheeled vehicle or a motorcycle, or more particularly, to a switching system to be mounted on a handle stem of two-wheeled vehicle or motorcycle for properly actuating winking lights to be specifically used for an indication purpose of a right or left turning of the motorcycle.
  • a switch means for actuating the turning signals of the motorcycle is assembled into a small casing with a head knob of an operational lever for changing-over the switch means being arranged to be projected from the casing mentioned above, so that the switch means is capable of being compactly mounted on the handle stem of the motorcycle and further, being operable by just turning the above-mentioned knob with a thumb of a driver's hand grasping a handle grip when the motorcycle is to be turned from its forward travelling direction.
  • the switch means of the above-described type is simply arranged to be actuated by selectively turning the operational lever mentioned above toward right and left from a neutral position thereof with reference to a direction to be turned, so that the winking signals prepared for respective turning directions can be correspondingly effected in respective, electrical ON modes. Furthermore, the effect mentioned above is to be cancelled by manually bringing the above-mentioned operational lever back into the neutral position thereof soon after the turning operation is accomplished.
  • the switching, operational lever is arranged to be held in a backwardly urged state thereof with respect to the driving direction while being capable of being resiliently brought back to the neutral state from the selectively oscillated right and left states thereof.
  • a signal for actuating an ON mode of the winking lights can be sent out, soon after the manual oscillation of the operational lever and successive return to the neutral state thereof is accomplished, but however, another signal for cancelling the above-mentioned state can be sent out through a cancelling signal switch means by a forcibly plunging of the operational lever at the above-mentioned neutral state of the switching, operational lever. Therefore, even with the help of the switching system as described in the foregoing, the difficulties involved in actuating the switching system from the standpoint of the safety driving is not satisfactorily dissolved.
  • an essential object of the present invention is to provide a signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles, wherein a cancelling signal for winking signals to be put off is not to be sent out with the help of an operational lever, as long as the operational lever is not fully resiliently brought back to a neutral position thereof.
  • Another important object of the present invention is to provide a signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles of the above-described type, which does not include a forwardly pushing or plunging operational step of an operational lever, to send out a cancelling signal for winking lights to be put off.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles of the above-described type, which is easily handled and highly efficient in use.
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles of the above-described type, which is simple in structure and can be manufactured at low cost.
  • a signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles.
  • the above-mentioned system of the present invention comprises a pair of covering portions whose one portion internally provided with a pair of supporting portions; a turning signal switch means interposed by the paired supporting portions and including a switch casing, an insulator having a plurality of fixed contacts on a side surface thereof and secured to the switch casing at respective ends thereof, and a contact holder substantially horizontally slidably accommodated in the switch casing and having a pair of projections at a top surface thereof together with a movable contact to be in contact with one of the fixed contact; an operational lever whose one end is projected from the covering portions while at least one portion of the operational lever is connected to the one covering portion, with a plurality of protruded portions being provided at an upper surface thereof; a coil spring disposed below the operational lever while being in a relatively vertically resilient state thereof against the operational lever
  • the cancelling switching means is to be disposed just below the operational lever and to be actuated to be in ON mode, with a signal for the winking lights to be put off being sent out at the same time, only when the operational lever is forcibly downwardly lowered to contact the contacting member at the neutral position thereof. Therefore, the unexpected erroneous handling of the switching system or more particularly, the operational lever, can not be brought about in any driving conditions of motorcycles.
  • FIG. 1 is a central elevational view, partly in section, of one of embodiments of a switching system for actuating winking signals to be used for motorcycles of the present invention, with an upper covering casing portion being removed;
  • FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1, however showing one modified embodiment of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown one preferred embodiment of a switching system utilized for actuating winking lights and mounted on a handle stem of a motorcycle, according to the present invention.
  • a switching system utilized for actuating winking lights and mounted on a handle stem of a motorcycle, according to the present invention.
  • a lower covering casing portion 1 is shown in these figures, the switching system, as a whole, is defined to be divided into two covering casing portions, and is to be secured to the handle stem a with these paired covering casing interposing the handle stem therebetween.
  • the switching system comprises a pair of covering casings whose lower portion 1 including a shaft portion 2 and a pair of supporting portions 3 and 3; a turning signal switch means 5 interposed by the paired supporting portions 3 mentioned above and including a switch casing 7, an insulator 6 having a plurality of fixed contacts 6a and a contact holder 8 having a pair of projections 10 and 10 at the top surface thereof and provided with a movable contact 8a; a coil spring 11 to be half accommodated in a bore provided on an upper face of the contact holder 8 while being disposed between the above-mentioned paired projections 10; a pair of springs 9 to be attached at one side of the contact holder 8; an operational lever 12 having a knob 15 at one end of a flat portion 13 which is elongated and is to be projected from the casing, to be pushed downward by a driver's thumb, and a plurality of rounded portions 14 at the upper surface thereof; a cancelling signal switch means 18 including a contacting member 17
  • the switch casing 7, which has a U-shaped cross section, is fixedly provided with the insulator 6 at the rear end thereof, while the switch casing 7 itself being fixedly interposed by the paired supporting portions 3 and 3.
  • the contact holder 8 mentioned above is slidably accommodated in the switch casing 7, with the movable contact 8a being in resilient contact with the insulator 6, while the contact holder 8 is arranged to be maintained in a neutral mode through the paired springs 9, unless one of projections 10 is engaged by the operational lever 12, and to be forcibly driven either in the upper direction or in the lower direction as shown in FIG. 2 by the driving movement of the operational lever 12 or the knob 15.
  • the operational lever 12 is shaped in a stepped configuration, so as to have two flat portions staged with each other with reference to a substantially horizontal reference plain.
  • the operational lever 12 itself is, as a whole, arranged to be oscillated within the substantially horizontal reference plain while being seized at one end thereof. More specifically, the one end portion mentioned above is through the shaft 2, with a washer having a little corrugated cross section being interposed and, is covered by the cover plate so that the end portion mentioned above is seized in a little movable mode, while the other end portion is arranged to be projected from the casing so that the knob 15 is to be attached thereto.
  • the insulating board 4 is horizontally extended, with one side end being fixedly supported by the lower casing 1.
  • the coil spring 11 disposed in a manner as described earlier is assembled in a manner such that an upper face of the coil spring 11 is to be in a resilient state toward the bottom flat surface of the flat portion of the operational lever 12.
  • the operational lever 12 As for the operational lever arranged in a manner as just described in the foregoing, if the knob 15 is pushed substantially downward as indicated by an arrow as shown in FIG. 2, the operational lever 12 is capable of being movable in the substantially downward direction with respect to the one rear end, being accompanied by a little downward oscillation at the same time. Furthermore, the operational lever 12 can further oscillate horizontally right or left with reference to the neutral position thereof as described earlier, if the force is so exerted with the knob 15 for overcoming the resilient force to be effected by either one of springs 9.
  • the operational lever 12 can oscillate towards horizontally right or left with reference to the neutral position thereof as shown in FIG. 2, to cause the movement of the contact holder 8, while the operational lever 12 is also movable in the substantially downward direction against the resilient force to be effected through the coil spring 11 when disposed in the neutral position, so that the cancelling signal switch means 18 is to be actuated through the above-mentioned movement of the operational lever 12.
  • the cancelling signal switch means 18 upon the insulating board 4, the contacting member 17 to be contacted by the flat portion 13 is mounted, so that the contacting member 17 including proper electrical connecting members and the flat portion 13 constitute the cancelling signal switch means 18 when the operational lever 12 is pushed downwards to contact the contacting member 17 at the neutral position of the operational lever 12.
  • the operational lever 12 is horizontally oscillated either in the right direction or in the left direction as indicated by an imaginary line shown in FIG. 2, depending upon the necessity of either winking of winking lights provided on the either sides of the motorcycle, or more particularly, the turning direction of the motorcycle.
  • the movable contact 8a assembled in the contact holder 8 is to be in contact with one of the fixed contacts 6a secured to the insulator 6 through a driving force effected through the substantially horizontal movement of the operational lever 12 to specific one of the projections.
  • a signal means (not shown here) is to receive an appropriate operational signal, to cause the winking of either the right winking lights or left winking lights to be electrically effected.
  • the operational lever 12 positioned in the neutral state thereof is downwards pushed against the resilient force caused by such as, for example, the coil spring 11, with the help of the knob 15, the flat portion 13 is brought into contact with the contacting member 17 and thereafter, the cancelling signal switch means 18 is rendered to be ON state.
  • the above-mentioned signal means is sent out an appropriate cancelling signal, to cause the wink having been effected to be electrically stopped.
  • the cancelling signal switch means 18 introduced in the above-mentioned embodiment can be replaced by a micro-switching means, only if the micro-switching means is arranged to be actuated following the downward forcible movement of the operational lever 12 while disposed in the neutral position as described in the foregoing.
  • FIG. 3 there is shown one modified embodiment of the switching system according to the present invention.
  • an approximately central portion of the operational lever 12 is resiliently mounted with the help of a coil spring 11a.
  • a winker switching means 5a having the movable portion 8 is disposed in the rear portion of the casing with respect to the position of the shaft 2a, wherein the rear end portion of an operational lever 12a is connected to the movable portion 8 of the winker switching means 5a.
  • the rest of parts of the arrangements of the modified embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is approximately the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • the operational lever is arranged to be held in a backwardly urged state thereof with respect to the driving direction while being also capable of being resiliently brought back to the neutral state from the selectively oscillated right and left states thereof. Therefore, a signal for actuating the winking lights can be sent out, soon after the manual oscillation of the operational lever and successive return to the neutral state thereof, is accomplished, but another signal for cancelling the above-mentioned state can be sent out through a cancelling signal switch means by a forcible plunging of the operational lever.
  • the cancelling signal switch means 18 is to be disposed just below the above-mentioned lever 12, wherein the above-mentioned means 18 is arranged to be constituted or actuated only when the above-mentioned lever 13 or 12 being in the neutral position thereof is forcibly downwardly lowered to contact the contacting member 17 by means of the knob 15.
  • the unexpected erroneous handling of the switching system, or more particularly, the operational lever can not be brought about in any driving conditions of motorcycles.
  • the switching system of the present invention has quite simple mechanical and electric constructions and therefore, can be manufactured at low cost while each being highly efficient in use.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanisms For Operating Contacts (AREA)
  • Switches With Compound Operations (AREA)
  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
US06/016,611 1978-03-02 1979-03-01 Signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles Expired - Lifetime US4216459A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP1978026682U JPS5826196Y2 (ja) 1978-03-02 1978-03-02 二輪車用タ−ンシグナルスイツチ装置
JP53-26682 1978-03-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US4216459A true US4216459A (en) 1980-08-05

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US06/016,611 Expired - Lifetime US4216459A (en) 1978-03-02 1979-03-01 Signal switching system for actuating winking lights to be used for two-wheeled vehicles

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US4216459A (ja)
JP (1) JPS5826196Y2 (ja)
DE (1) DE2908093A1 (ja)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4398175A (en) * 1980-08-20 1983-08-09 Gamba Gregory G Apparatus for automatically cancelling a turn signal

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0805099A3 (en) * 1996-05-03 1998-10-21 Domino S.p.A. Switch for controlling direction indicators for motorcycles

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3931529A (en) * 1974-06-11 1976-01-06 Williamson Jr Lonnie C Turn signal indicator
US4097700A (en) * 1975-11-14 1978-06-27 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Switch mechanism for a turn signal

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3931529A (en) * 1974-06-11 1976-01-06 Williamson Jr Lonnie C Turn signal indicator
US4097700A (en) * 1975-11-14 1978-06-27 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Switch mechanism for a turn signal

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4398175A (en) * 1980-08-20 1983-08-09 Gamba Gregory G Apparatus for automatically cancelling a turn signal

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2908093A1 (de) 1979-09-13
JPS54130260U (ja) 1979-09-10
JPS5826196Y2 (ja) 1983-06-06

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